Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-08-26
MI. Jellif er's Inheritance.

announcing the fact lay before him,
beside the breakfast which He had for
gotten jim. the thought OF this unex.
pected good fortune. TWAS not "a
rneagre breakfast, although Mr.. Jeni
Ter, at ive-and forty was, still only a
curate ON q stipend Of ESQ per an.
mum, for through the greater part oil
HE twenty years in holy orders he
had acted on the principles that if he
gave his time to the poor it was as
much as they could expect, and so il
they called Parson Jenifer "hard''
and "close," and preferred going to
the :yicar-7why, that was not his
fault. -.
His inheritance consisted in good
house and several hundreds a, year,
and he sat and thought over the dit.
ference this would make in his future.
No more for him the daily service,
read as part of the days work- mo
more visiting OF thriftless complain
ing, muddling poor, with whom me
was completely out OF touch--in q
word, no more drudgery!
Twenty years of drudgery! That
was what his life amounted to-. Not
for him the spirit of love that softens
and the high thoughts that sanctify
daily tasks; only the grudging gift OF
obligatory toll. It was written on his
face, in lines marked by 20 years-no,
not quite 2O-he had thought differ
emily at 6rst-but by more than q
dozen years OF discomfort and repin-
ing. It was pity, too, for the face
was one OF great possibilities, clouded
over by the dullness of heart that
fails to see through the service the
Master who is served.
Even now he had no regret for the
kind old friend who had left him a.
goodly share OF his property; no
thought that the hand which had ever
been ready to help him and many an
other was helpless now henceforth
no spirit of gratitude for this last
loving gift-only a selfish pleasure in
his own good luck and feeling of dis
content that it had been so long in
coming. And thus thinking he rose
and went to see his Vicar to make ar
rangements for the visit to the lawyer,
which must precede his taking pos
session OF his new inheritance. =
He found no difficulty in obtaining
leave of absence for the purpose. The
Vicar was kind and open hearted
man and was pleased at his curate's
,Ae1
"Wsll, Jenifer,6 he Said, II am verv
glad for you, though you can't appre-
clate it as much as if you had wife
and family dependent on you. At
the same you have my hearty con-
CALCULATIONS"
"Ah," said MIR. Jenifer, "things gen.
orally come too late. Now if this had
happened when I was ten years young
er, what o difference it would have
made to me!'
'But your friends life was a very
valuable one to many was it not?'
said the Vicar. "From all that have
heard OF him, I should think that
even now there will beplenty of people
to say that the end has come ten
years too soon. rather than too late"
"Why, he was nearly nineUy!" said
Jenifer, as if the fact were rather re.
proach to the old man. Then he has
:ened away to make his preparations
for leaving,
The Wears wife came in as the Gu.
rate went out. She found her husband
gazing rather sadly into the dull
street.
"Mary, my DEAR" he said, 'sit is my
HalIpf that ffor II
loaves and fishes there were some
among the five Thousand who COM
planned tnat the bread was stale and
the tlsh not SO fresh as it might have
been"
Meanwhile Clement Jenifer was
speeding on to London to see his law.
yer. He found there was one condi.
ton which he must fulfill before he
could call himself master of the house
and income. Mr.. Dacre had only will
ed Waterdelt Hall to him under the
provlso that he should pass one night
in the house entirely alone. = =.
Mr.. Jenifer laughed when this clause
was read to him.
.'That's not very hard thing to do"
said he. But was Mr.. Dacre's brain
softening when he made his will?"
''Not at ALL" answered the lawyer
shortly. ANY one who saw MIR. Dacre
in his last hour will tell you that
the dear old mans mind was az clear
to the end as in his best days. When
you go to Waterdell you will not
please your poor neiglibors there il
yo, suggest to them that the man
who was SO universally beloved was
crazy. have no doubt this letter,
which he instructed me to deliver to-
you personally, will explain the mat
ter"
This was. however, not the case.
The note was but g. short one, and
gave no reason for the testator's
wish, except that he had sinherited
Waterdell He'll under the same stipu-
lation-that he had ever been thank
ful for having carried it out, and
hoped that though his friend Clement
Jenifer was older than he himself had
been when he came into the property,
("for," he wrote, with q touch of his
ordinary humor. II have been, like
Charles H., an unconscionable time
q dying, '')yet, that a solitary night
passed in his future home would prove
as great a blessing to him as it had
been to the writer, and so, without
further explanation, signed himself
his affectionate friend, Thomas Dacre.,
That was all. Clement Jenifer new
er liked being made ridiculous, and he
thought that this will went very near
that possibility. Yet he, could not
lose his inheritance for fear. of being
absurd, so after certain business in.
structions from the lawyer he went to
his hotel for that night and next
morning started for Waterdell. Hea
put up at alittle inn in the nearest
market town before proceeding to his